Negotiations on Panama Canal project remain stalled

Negotiators for the Panama Canal Authority and Grupo Unidos por el Canal remain far apart on a deal to resolve a long-simmering billing dispute that would resume work on new locks that are part of the $5.2 billion expansion project. The project is designed to facilitate international commerce by enabling transits by much larger cargo ships. The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) issued a statement Tuesday saying that talks have not narrowed differences that have brought construction to a standstill. GUPC, an international consortium of builders, says it has run out of money to pay operating expenses because of $1.6 billion in unforeseen cost overruns and is seeking significant financing assistance from the ACP to keep the pr...